The son of a crofter, William McTaggart was born in the small village of Aros, near Campbeltown, in Kintyre a western peninsula of Scotland.
McTaggart was fascinated with nature and man’s relationship with it, and he strove to capture aspects such as the transient effects of light on water.
In 1906 Reid held the first one-man-show for McTaggart in his Glasgow gallery on St Vincent Street, exhibiting twenty works.
John Waldegrave Blyth (1873–1962) bought "End of the Links" and "Cornfields in the Snow" from Reid in 1912, but had to pay the £450 for the first in instalments, and owed £260 for the second for a long period.
From this agreement Reid paid £367 10s for his share of "Away Over the Sea" which Aitken Dott bought at auction from Christies, and received his half (£407 10s) when sold on in Dundee.
[2] In April 1914 Reid offered Blyth "The Emigrants" in part exchange for Eugène Boudin's "Les Fourges" plus £150 in cash.
Workman bought four pictures for £5000 total: "Girls Bathing, White Bay", "Dark Blue Sea, Carradale, "The Storm" and "A School in Arran".
[2] In March 1920 Reid found a buyer for "Where the Smugglers came Ashore" which was held by Aitken Dott (but acquired prior to their agreement).